Meetings At A Crossroad
by Ace12
Summary: It's the unlikely places where you meet someone that you remember the most. It's the tears of sadness and happiness. It's the choices you make and where they take you.  It's where you meet 'The One'. It's a crossroad. Now what are you going to do with it?
1. My Temporary Home

_**A/N: So I know it's been yonks since I've updated any of my stories and I'm so sorry about that. But if you've ever written something you'd know what it's like to have reality clash with your dreams and how you gotta battle it out and it may take forever - anyway!**_

_**I think I actually really like this plot. It's fun and easy to write as I can relate to it so much. So I hope you like it as much as I do. If you don't let me know and if you do...the same applies :) I'll further the title of this story later on when I get more time because this chapter and the next were going to be one but it looked too long so I just made it a bit easier to absorb.**_

_**Disclaimer: Any characters that are linked to Disney's Camp Rock are obviously not mine so no law suits please. And this story is in no way meant to be disrespectful to soliders if you perceive it that way; I admire and respect and love them with all my heart and if you knew me then you'd know this. It just merely shows life for the family of soldiers. Oh and any songs mentioned I always give credit for. Enjoy  
**_

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**"This is my temporary home**

**It's not where I belong. **

**Windows and rooms that I'm passing through.**

**This is just a stop on the way to where I'm going."**

**Temporary Home - Carrie Underwood  
**

'Mitchie, you're gonna love me,' my best friend Sierra screeched as she came running down the halls of our school to greet me.

'Si, you really need to calm down,' I told my friend as she skidded to a halt in front of me whilst a few passersby gave her an odd look, 'otherwise people are gonna start thinking you're on crack.'

'But Mitchie you wouldn't believe what my parents gave me last night as my final birthday present!' She squealed as she grabbed my hands before jumping up and down.

I could not help but join my friend even though I did not know the news as I had never seen her like this before; my normally quiet, studious friend was squealing and jumping so fast that her tightly curled hair was sure to get tangled up into a big messy knot.

'Alright, alright, we've jumped and laughed; now tell me the news,' I said slightly puffed as we stopped jumping after a couple more seconds.

'So you know how you're leaving tomorrow?' Sierra started and I quickly rolled my eyes as I shifted my shoulder bag higher up on my shoulder.

'Don't remind me – I mean seriously Dad, I get it's your work and I'm extremely proud of you and all that but do you _have_ to move me to a whole other -'

'Mitch, really?' Sierra interrupted me with her hands placed firmly on her hips and her left eyebrow raised – a clear sign she was lacking her usual patience.

'Oh right – you – big news. Go.'

'Thank you. Now like I was saying my parents that you and I should have this big shebang,' she began and I had to clamp my hand over my mouth to muffle the laughter at her choice of words, 'to celebrate my birthday again and to say bye to you.'

'Wow; something happy and something morbid…sounds enticing,' I remarked sarcastically though quickly stepped back when Sierra gave me the same look she had before, 'sorry but you should really be used to my big mouth by now.'

'That's beside the point, do you want to know my big fantastic present or not?' She demanded as she flipped her thick curly mop off of her shoulder.

'Yes! So would you hurry up and tell me before my brain thinks of something else to blurt out?'

'We're going to Connect 3's final concert!' Sierra squealed as she started jumping up and down again whilst I stood there confused at how I would find that exciting and enticing. 'Oh come on, Mitch, it's gonna be abso-freaking-tastic!'

'You do realise who we're talking to right?' I asked as I ran my hands through my side fringe.

'C'mon girly, haven't you heard all the news around this tour. I mean remember that rumour that ticket buyers had to sign some contract agreeing to no cameras and not being able to leak news to gossip sites and all that?' she asked as if I knew exactly what she was talking about.

'Nope,' I answered with a smile as she shot me a glare.

'Well,' Sierra began as she hooked arms with me so that we could start walking to our homeroom, 'it turns out that rumour was a fact as Mum and Dad had to sign one for our two tickets. You realise what that means, right?'

'That you're parents got ripped off for an overly priced night that we can't even take photos of to remember the horrible event?' I replied with raised eyebrows.

'No,' she muttered as she nudged her shoulder against mine, 'it means something big is going to happen when I say big, I mean _big_.'

'Sierra, honestly, wouldn't you rather take one of your fanatic cousins? You know I don't really have a particular liking to that band,' I said as we stopped outside of our classroom.

'Please Mitchie; we probably won't see each other in, like, _forever_ so just come. I mean…for me? Think of it as if you come then I owe you big time.'

'Fine…but am I allowed to mock Shane Grey's hair flicks?'

'No.'

'Fine.'

'You sure you don't want me here to help finish packing the last few things, Dad?' I asked as I looked through my wardrobe in an attempt to find something to wear for the concert tonight.

'Go have fun, sport, Matt and I can do the packing,' My Dad said as he leaned against my bedroom door frame.

'Yeah Mo; you go have fun with those screaming teenyboppers while I'm stuck here packing up your junk,' my twin brother, Matthew, replied sharply from where he was lying on my bed; one of the last things that still occupied my almost empty room.

'Matty, it's not my fault that bimbo of yours broke up with you because she couldn't figure out that you don't need a special phone to call someone in another state,' I shot back as I grabbed a pair of tight, skinny black jeans before throwing them over my head and onto my bed.

'Jesus, I'm not your laundry basket so I'd rather you not try and blind me with one of those stupid studs on your jeans!' My brother grumbled and when I looked over my shoulder I realised that they must have hit them on the face.

'My bad?' I offered before turning my attention back to my wardrobe to find the last article of clothing I needed for tonight; shoes.

'Matt don't be so hard on your sister; it's not her fault we're moving,' Dad told my brother.

'Yeah that'd be yours,' Matt shot back darkly and I quickly spun around in shock at what my brother had just said.

My head turned back from my Father to my Brother as I watched the silent glares they were both shooting at each other. My Dad eventually gave in with a deep, ragged sigh before turning and walking back down the halls; the scuffing of his feet against the timber floorboards echoing throughout the quiet house. I marched over to my bedroom door and slammed it shut before turning on my Brother.

'What the bloody fuck was that about?' I hissed as I walked across the room.

'What? It's not like you weren't thinking it and – Ow!' he exclaimed in pain after my palm connected with the side of his head.

'What's happened to you? I mean you've always had a "superior than thou" attitude but you never used against your family. I can't believe you just said that to Dad…' I trailed off in disgust as I watched my brother give a tired groan before covering his face with his hands.

'I don't know what's happening to me…I'm just over moving every couple of years.'

'You think _I_ like moving? You think it's gonna be fun for me to leave Sierra? You're not the only one that's affected by Dad's job y'know?' I said darkly as I sat down at the edge of my bed.

'Why couldn't he have just gone and fought in another country like he did years ago? At least we wouldn't have to move,' my brother said quietly though I clearly heard it.

I jumped up from my bed, grabbed his arms and with all the strength I could muster I pulled my twin up from my bed and pushed him away from me, 'get out.'

'What?' he asked; his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

'Get out of my room,' I said as calmly as I could despite the fact that my blood was practically boiling with what he just said.

'Mo -'

'Don't "Mo" me; you're not my brother. The Matty I grew up with and loved would have _never_ said that about Dad.'

'I didn't mean it,' he quickly apologised though I only shook my head as I stepped closer to him before pressing my hands against his back in an attempt to push him out of my room.

'Yes you did now get out of my room, please,' I added quietly as I felt tears sting my eyes.

I stepped in front of Matt and grabbed the doorknob and yanked it open as I waited for him to leave; not even bothering to look at him as I did not want him to see the tears that were threatening to fall from my eyes. When I finally heard him leave I shakily closed the door before returning to my bed and picking up the clothes that lay on it.

I slowly got dressed as the tears rolled down my cheeks and although I was thankful that I had not put my make up on yet I was starting to think that they would never cease; leaving my body all dried up and shrivelled on the floor.

By the time I had pulled my oversized, washed out grey 'Highway to Hell' t-shirt on along with my black skinny jeans and black combat boots, my tears had finally stopped and my face was relatively dry. With a deep breath to reassure myself that there would be no tears, I walked over to my dresser and scrimmaged through the few pieces of makeup that I had not packed into a big, brown box.

Deciding to play it safe, I applied a layer of foundation and a thin line of black eyeliner and after a few flicks of my mascara I decided that I was good to go. I was about to walk out of my room when I felt like I had to do something. I quickly glanced down at my chunky black studded watch to see that I had enough time to do my hair, so I grabbed a few bobby pins and stuck them in my mouth before taking a few pieces of hair from each side and pinning them together at the back of my hair. I then pumped a couple squirts of one of my favourite 'beach hair' products into my hands and scrunched the product into the ends of my hair to give it more curl. Deciding that I was ready to go I made my way over to door making sure to grab my black shoulder bag on the way.

As I headed down the stairs I could hear the front doorbell ring and inwardly groaned as I my stomach started doing flip flops for some unknown reason; it was almost like it was trying to tell me something bad was going to happen.


	2. This Is A Story Of A Girl

_**Enjoy**_

_**Disclaimer: see previous page. Also don't own Jonas Brothers songs or AC/DC**_

* * *

**"This is a story of a girl**

** Who cried a river and drowned the whole world **

**And while she looks so sad in photographs **

**I absolutely love her when she smiles."**

**-Nine Days  
**

'I can't believe you wore an AC/DC shirt to a Connect 3 concert – everyone's staring at you weirdly,' Sierra informed me as we pushed our way through the small crowd in side of the arena.

'I can't believe your parents got us front row tickets and they're probably staring at your glow in the dark shirt, Si,' I said with a laugh as we finally made it to the barrier.

'Hey! Don't be hatin' what I'm makin,' Sierra said as she popped the neckline of her custom made, blue glow in the dark Connect 3 t-shirt.

'Respect, respect,' I laughed as we playfully bumped shoulders with each other.

'So you all ready to leave tomorrow?' Sierra asked after a couple moments of comfortable silence.

'What choice do I have? I mean it's not like I didn't know this day was coming, it always does, it's just that after Mum passing away we did the whole "we won't go anywhere where your Mum can't be with us" deal and I just kind of hoped that meant Dad had quit the army,' I said honestly; deciding that if I couldn't even tell my own friend how I felt then I would be royally screwed.

'Well if it makes you feel any better, you know who else supposedly has a house in Wyckoff?'

'Tara Reid?'

'No stupid; Connect 3 aka the Grey brothers,' Sierra said with a gigantic smile though I only groaned in response before muttering a couple of profanities under my breath; causing an eleven year old next to me to give me one of the worst death glares I have ever gotten in my life.

'Brilliant – hey Sierra? Can we swap spots?' I whispered and when she gave me a puzzled look I decided that I had better explain. 'This little kid looks like she wants to gut me with her glow stick.'

Sierra suddenly burst out laughing as the lights went down causing the entire arena to burst out in screams of love for Connect 3 even though they probably would not even be on the stage for another hour or so though Sierra and I did not really care about that; we were too busy hanging onto each other for support in fear of falling over in laughter as the girl next to me must have brought about ten friends with her as they were all glaring at us now.

About three hours later Connect 3 was up on stage and was preparing to perform their final song of the night. Despite not really liking the cookie-cutter boy band I had found myself swept up into their crazy little musical world and had been dancing alongside Sierra for the majority of the night.

The boys seemed to have an unlimited amount of energy as all three ran about the revolving stage for the majority of the show; only sitting when they did one slow song which had slightly more depth than the rest. The three brothers had started the night in skinny jeans, Nate choosing black, Jason choosing dark blue and Shane wearing white, that slowly began to loosen and sag as the night went on. At the beginning they were wearing different types of jackets and Shane even opted for a hat, but the hat had soon gotten thrown into the crowd and after a very energetic the boys had ditched their jackets so that Jason was wearing a t-shirt and vest whilst both Shane and Nate opted for wife beaters, white and red respectively, which caused the eleven year old next to me to start hyperventilating.

_Sure, I mean…they're not exactly _bad_ to look at in a singlet but…I wouldn't faint over them. _

I brushed my fringe further of my face and quickly wiped the small drops of perspiration from my face before giving a big sigh.

'This is it, huh?' I said as I turned to face my best friend.

'Can't believe you lasted this long, gotta say I'm proud of you, Mitch,' Sierra said with a toothy smile as I cocked my head to the side and closed my eyes.

'Wasn't talking about the concert, Si,' I said quietly as I felt like there was something solid stuck in my throat which was making it harder to breathe; a clear sign that I would be crying soon enough if I did not get my emotions in check.

'I know,' she answered in the same voice and when I felt one of her arms wrap around my shoulder I leaned into her hug.

We both knew that we would be too tired in the car ride back to my house to talk which meant that right now, within these next four or so minutes, would be the last time that I would be able to talk to the girl that I had gotten so close to in the last three years.

'Alright guys, can we just quiet it down for a couple seconds; we've got some things to say,' Jason said from up on stage causing me to open my eyes to pay attention to the older band member though I almost instantly regretted it as a two tears rolled down my cheeks.

'So we want to thank all of you for coming out tonight; you have no idea how much you all mean to us. I mean seriously, you're family,' Nate, the youngest band member, said which caused a couple of girls to scream out 'we love you Nate!'

'Now as you all know this is the "Poison Ivy" tour,' insert fan girls screaming, 'and normally we'd end with the headliner song but – not tonight,' Shane said as he flicked his hair off of his sweaty face and Sierra and I shared a soft laugh as a few more tears spilled from my eyes. 'Tonight we're gonna do something different – something we haven't done at any other concert yet.'

'Last night this amazing song was written and we just have to play it for you; it's not like our usual stuff but…I think you're gonna like it,' Jason said with a proud smile as the crowd continued to cheer for the boys; resulting in them having to talk louder into their headsets.

'But that's not the only surprise,' Nate began as he raised his arm up into the air and pointed at the ceiling,' see that spotlight up there? It moves,' he said and as if on cue the bright light began to roam around the audience.

'It's gonna go round and round, where it stops…no one will know,' Shane sang with a cheeky grin that made my stomach spin around as he walked around the stage.

_It should not be legal to be this close to these guys. I mean seriously this cannot be good for a girl's health. I mean seriously don't they realise that one of these days some crazy fan's gonna rip their clothes off of them? I mean that eleven year olds friend almost did!_

'From the area it stops at, we're going to pick one fan to come on up here and hang with us for the final song,' Jason further explained and another round of crazy fan girls cheering filled the room though it seemed to be louder than ever before as a sudden excitement buzzed about the arena.

As the spotlight began to circle the crowd I turned to face Sierra, 'Si…I'm gonna miss you so freaking much!' I screamed over the hundreds of frantic fans who were pushing and shoving their way in the crowd in an attempt to have the light land on them.

'You're going to miss me? I'm going to miss _you_, girly! God I don't know what I'm going to do without here; I mean it's not exactly like there's a bunch of girls busting the booties off to be my best friend.'

'Then they don't know what they're missing out on! Promise we won't lose contact? I've already lost that many friends…I couldn't live with losing you too,' I admitted sadly as a bright light landed on our area of the crowd.

'Mitchie I don't know if I could -' she was suddenly pushed away from my side by an eager fan who was trying to get closer to the barrier.

'Sierra? Sierra?' I yelled as loud as I could though that seemed to accomplish nothing as my small voice was not match to the large group of girls surrounding me.

'So who's gonna be the lucky girl?' I heard Shane say from on stage and when I turned to face the voice I saw that all three boys were standing very close to the edge and looking extremely close at who the possible winner of their little contest would be.

I gave a roll at my eyes at how big of a flirt he was but suddenly all the breath was taken out of me as some girl behind me shoved me forward and into the metal barricade. I quickly gasped for air as my arms instinctively wrapped around my stomach as a fresh batch of tears rolled down my eyes due to losing my friend amidst a crowd of pre-pubescent teens and because of the lack of air I could not even turn around and punch the girl that shoved me.

'Hey!' I heard Jason yell from the stage as I tried to look above the heads of the girls surrounding me so I could find Sierra though I could not even stand up on my toes as I was still in too much pain from the Hulk of a girl behind me. I was suddenly shaken out of my little world as the screams grew in volume and was closer than they were before and I started thinking that I could potentially lose my hearing because of this.

_Because you know…my night hasn't been that bad at all. I'm gonna hit that ogre when I can! Freaking hell that hurt!_

'OMG! Shane Grey I freaking love you!'

'Nate! Marry me!

'Shane pick me, pick me!

'I want to fucking have your babies!'

'Are you alright?' a boy asked me and that is when I realised why all the girls had started screaming loud, because the boy in front of me was none other than Nate Grey.

I was still unable to talk so I gave a short nod of my head as I turned my head left and right; hoping Sierra might mysteriously reappear.

'Get her!' Nate shouted to the boy next to him who I suddenly realised was Shane. Next thing I knew Shane and Nate had both leaned over the barrier and grabbed a hold of my waist before pulling me over the top of it with strength that I did not know either possessed.

'Are you okay?' Shane asked again as I regained my footing and when I took a deep, shaky breath before deciding that I was good to talk.

'I've been worse,' I finally managed with a weak smile that caused both boys to look at me with concern.

'Pass her up!' I heard Jason yell and the boys apologised before once again grabbing a hold of my waist, to which I had to bite down hard on my lip to repress the shriek of pain as Shane's hand had pressed into my stomach that would surely now be bruised, and slowly held me up to Jason who had his hands outstretched for me to take.

I locked my hands onto his and with some assistance from their base guitarists; I was up on stage with a thousand eyes looking at me. Nate and Shane soon joined me up on stage after getting a leg up from one of the many security guards and Shane slung an arm loosely around my shoulders before leading me over to a stool that was positioned near Nate's white grand piano.

As Shane signalled for me to lean against the piano to try and make me feel better whilst his two brothers joint us as the rest of the band started playing a few notes on their various instruments.

'Can you hold out for a couple more minutes? We just gotta finish this last song then we can get you checked out by the people backstage,' Nate said once he had pushed his mouth piece away from his mouth.

'I'm fine, honestly,' I said as I pushed some hair behind my ear whilst my other arm still clung to my stomach, 'just winded.'

'You're still gonna get checked out,' Nate stated stubbornly as he adjusted his guitar strap.

'We should probably warn you that there's going to be a big question you'll be asked at the end of the song,' Jason said as he moved around me to take a place at the white piano.

'We can leave it out if you want,' Nate offered as he pulled himself on top of the piano so that he was sitting on the edge of it before removing the guitar strap from around his shoulder.

'Nah it's cool; ask me whatever you want,' I said with another weak smile as I squinted my eyes in an attempt to see if I could spot Sierra from up here.

'You wanna go up there?' Shane asked and after I gave a shrug of my shoulders, Shane helped me hop up onto the piano before pulling himself up so that I was positioned between him and Nate.

'You guys ready for this one?' Nate asked the crowd after bringing his mouth piece back to his mouth so that they could hear his voice now.

The crowd cheered in response as Shane picked up a wireless microphone from behind him that I had not seen whilst Nick strummed a few chords on his guitar; Jason playing a few notes on Nate's piano.

'Pick up all your tears, throw them in the backseat. Leave without a second glance. Somehow I'm to blame for this never ending racetrack you call life,' Nate sang and despite how bad my stomach was feeling I managed to smile a real smile for a couple seconds before realising how true the lyrics were.

_If only they knew that's what I'd be doing tomorrow and have been doing the majority of my life._

'So turn right, into my arms. Turn right, you won't be alone. You might fall off this track sometimes; hope to see you on the finish line,' Shane crooned into his microphone as he faced me; the concern on his face deepening when he saw that I was crying once again.

_Where's Sierra? I could really use my friend right now._

'Driving all your friends out at a speed the cannot follow, soon you will be on your own,' Nate sang, his fingers continuing to pluck the strings of his guitar, and since I was too busy caught up in my own little miserable world I almost jumped out of my skin when I felt Shane's warm hand wrap around my left hand that I had placed on the piano.

_I'm not – I mean I usually do but…no. I can keep one friend with me – I don't want to be fifty and have no childhood friends. It's not fair!_

Somehow I had managed to miss part of the song and Nate was once again singing.

'I did all I could. And I gave everything. But you had to go your way, and that road was not for me,' and by this point it felt like my heart was about to explode out of my chest from holding in the flood of tears that wanted to burst out of me.

The music suddenly intensified as Shane squeezed my hand before looking out to the audience briefly, returning his attention to me a few seconds later, and 'turn right, into my arms. Turn right, you won't be alone. You might fall of this track sometimes; hope to see you at the…finish line,' he finished with a small smile to me which I sadly returned.

Once Jason finished playing on the piano the whole crowd erupted with cheers, squeals and chants in honour of the boys whilst Shane and Nate hopped off of the piano before both assisting me to do the same.

'So guys before you all leave we have two last things to say,' Nate interrupted their cheers in a serious voice which kind of made him seem more intimidating than he was when he was just singing, 'firstly next time we need you all to be safer. We appreciate the love you have for us and how you want to show it so badly, but we don't want other fans getting hurt in the process. So from now on have a bit more courtesy for each other alright?' He lectured shooting the area that I had come from a dirty look.

'And then on a lighter note, Mr Shane here has an important question he's going to ask…uh…' Jason trailed off as he helplessly looked at his brothers.

'Mitchie,' I said quietly realising that he was trying to remember whether or not I had said my name.

'Yeah, Shane has an important question he'd like to ask _Mitchie_,' Jason said with a kind smile to me.

'Alright, Mitchie,' Shane said as he turned to me with one of the most serious faces I had ever seen him show.

_Alright so I may not have _liked_ the band that much but it's not like I don't know their faces or where they live or that Shane's favourite colour was Turquoise or that Nate had a sugar obsession or that Jason supposedly had found 'true love'. I mean c'mon; they're like on every single teenage magazine cover._

'I was wondering,' he started as he gave my hand, which was still holding onto mine, a tight squeeze as I wiped my wet cheeks in an attempt to seem less pathetic, 'if you'd like to go out sometime – like a date,' Shane clarified after I gave him a puzzled look.

Right in that moment I could almost hear over a thousand hearts breaking whilst a similar amount of girls shot daggers at every inch of my body. Suddenly I felt very insecure on stage on my almost all black ensemble as I scuffed my boot against the stage ground whilst going over what he had just said in my head then noticing the absurdity in it.

What followed? Laughter. And a lot of it at that.


	3. All My Friends

**_A/N: so here's the third installment of 'Meetings At A Crossroad'. So I'll be gone for about three days as I'm going on camp and schools starting up and all that jazz so I'll hopefully be able to get one more chapter in after this by the end of the night but if not you'll have to wait till Saturday; sorry._**

**_Anyway thank you to those who reviewed; it means so much :)_**

**_Hopefully this chapter and those to come won't let you down._**

**_Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.  
_**

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**"All my friends are enemies**

**And they just turn their backs to my face**

**Their actions biting me **

**And all my friends are enemies **

**So I'm always on my own"**

**-Say Anything**

'Are you alright?' Shane asked worriedly as I doubled over in laughter; my sides aching from bending and the force of my laughter.

I looked up at him to see that he and his brothers were sharing confused glances as a couple of girls started booing me for some reason. It finally clicked that to them, I was seen as being disrespectful to Shane so I sobered up before standing straight; my hair brushing against my back as one side of my top had slipped down and off of my shoulder.

'I am so sorry,' I apologised as Nate handed me a microphone so that the audience could hear me better, 'I didn't mean to sound rude; you just caught me off guard.'

'Nah it's alright; not like I gave you any warning,' Shane said with a crooked smile that made the butterflies in my stomach do a happy little dance.

'So…Mitchie, what's your answer for Shane?' Nate asked in an attempt to get us focused on the question.

'Oh, right! Well…um…' I trailed off as the crowd suddenly erupted in various screams of 'no'; some more vicious than others.

'Guys; seriously! Calm down!' Jason shouted as I awkwardly fiddled with my microphone after hearing someone shout out 'she's fat and doesn't even like you guys!' in a familiar voice.

'You alright?' Shane asked quietly whilst Nate and Jason attempted to calm down the audience.

'Course,' I said with a fake smile as all three boys turned to me once the crowd quieted down, 'alright so I'm going to have to thank you for the offer but…no.'

'No?' Shane said as his mouth dropped open in shock.

'Did she just say "no"?' Jason asked Nate as a few gasps and shrieks of disbelief escaped the crowd.

'Like I said, thank you so much for the offer and inviting me up here but I'm going to have to pass on the date offer,' I said before placing my microphone on the piano and turning to Nate, 'Can I go back into the crowd now?'

Nate gave me a quick look before turning to the side of the stage and waving over a large, dark skinned man, 'it's probably better you don't.'

'C'mon I'll show you out?' the bald man said in a gruff but kind voice once Nate had whispered something to him and I nodded obediently before following him off the stage.

'So it's alright for me to go, yeah?' I asked as I gently rubbed my stomach which was still sore from the crowd incident.

'Sorry, Miss, but Nate told me what happened and it's best you get checked out before you leave,' he said as he led me over to a paramedic that was waiting behind the stage.

'But I have to go find my friend; I'm meant to get a ride home with her and she's probably freaking out about where I went,' I explained as the lady with a first aid bag ushered for me to show her where I was in pain.

'We'll find her for you later,' the man said as I heard the boys saying their final goodbye to their audience and I suddenly wanted this check up to end before they could join me backstage.

'Can you lift your shirt for a couple seconds? I just want to have a better look,' the paramedic said kindly so I obliged and lifted my shirt above my waist so that she could see the damage.

I looked down myself and winced upon seeing the large red marking across my middle and was surprised to see the cut near my bellybutton that was bleeding. I replayed the incident to see how I could have cut myself but came up short with any answers.

'Nice piercing,' Shane grunted as he walked past me; not even bothering to ask how I was though he could spare a couple seconds to check out my stomach and belly ring.

_Such a male. No questions, only perving._

'How is she?' Jason asked as the lady dabbed some kind of liquid onto a cotton ball.

'Not too bad; she'll just be in a bit of pain until the bruise goes away – this might sting,' she warned before pressing the cotton ball against the open skin; causing me to turn my head away and wince.

'You alright?' Nate asked quickly as he placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

'I'll be better when people start fussing over me,' I said with a bitter smile in an attempt to show that I was joking even though I was not.

A door slammed shut somewhere further down the hallway as the paramedic grabbed a beige bandage and began to wrap it around the bruise for some unknown to reason to me. The two remaining brothers shared a knowing look before shaking their head in annoyance.

'Shane.'

'What's his problem anyway? He was so nice up on stage before,' I commented as my body was tugged forward slightly because the paramedic had pulled the bandage too tightly as she wound it around me.

'Shane's…complicated; he was two identities. There's the one on stage where he's all nice and kind but then there's the more predominate one that comes to life when he's offstage; the jerk persona,' Nate said; enlightening me on the many faces of Shane Adam Grey.

'Sounds like he must be a bundle of joy on tour,' I said sarcastically which made both boys laugh.

'He's alright when you leave him alone,' Jason began as he reached over my outstretched arm to grab the small pin to secure my bandage before handing it over to the paramedic lady.

'But we can't say that we're not happy that this tour is over and done with and we can finally go home for a little while,' Nate finished just as the lady pinned me into place.

'All done; you should be good to go though you might want to take a couple pain killers before you go to sleep just in case,' She advised and I gave a grateful smile as I released my shirt so it could fall back down.

'Thanks; feels better already might be able to go for that five k run that I was planning to do later,' I joked as the lady smiled before walking off. 'Anyway I should probably get going and find my friend.'

'You sure you're alright?' Nate asked and I rolled my eyes.

'Ask me one more time, pretty boy, and you won't be,' I threatened lightly as I opened my arms and gave him a quick hug; remember how Sierra had once told me that the youngest band member hated "touchy-feely" fans though to my surprise he actually returned my hug.

'Pssh you couldn't take me if you tried,' he scoffed with a childlike smile as he released me from the hug.

'Only because you're body guards would probably kill me,' I retorted before turning to Jason and giving him a hug too. 'Thank you guys for everything; it's really been a rememorable night but…do you think I should go say bye to Shane?' I asked as I looked down the hall to where I assumed Shane's dressing room was.

'Unless you want a lamp thrown at you, I'd advise not,' Jason said seriously though I could not help but laugh.

'I really gotta go,' I said as I glanced down at my watch and realised I was already ten minutes late to meet up with Sierra, 'anyway thanks again and hope you have a brilliant break from touring.'

'Wait, where are you going?' Nate asked in confusion as I made my way over to the bright green 'exit' sign.

'Outside?'

'Mitchie, you just rejected one of America's most eligible bachelors under twenty years old in front of his biggest fans – you think they're gonna let that slide?' he asked though his tone had now changed from confusion to amusement.

'Well I gotta get out there somehow,' I said exasperation whilst flinging my arms up in the air.

'Tiny, could you help Mitchie out?' Jason asked the tall, solid man who had escorted me off stage.

'Alright but you guys gotta stay in the building till I get back,' he told the boys as he walked over to me and hooked his arm with mine, 'the last thing you're gonna want is to be separated from me when you get out that,' Tiny explained as we made our way to the door.

I looked over my shoulder and gave the boys a final smile and wave and silently wished that I had been able to bring a camera as Tiny pushed the door open and escorted me through the crowd; pushing a few girls who tried to get at me away.

'Is it this bad for the boys?' I asked after one particular girl actually tried to lunge at me screaming about how much of a bitch I was.

'No, they love the guys so they don't want to hurt them. I think they hate you,' Tiny said before pushing my head down as something can flying at me.

'You think?' I muttered before adding quick thanks as I tried to find Sierra.

Thankfully I could see my curly haired friend up a head and after telling Tiny that she was no threat, we walked over to her though where I was expecting a warm welcome I got a cold glare instead.

'Whoa, what's going on, Si?' I asked as I held up my free hand in a sign of truce.

'Don't talk to me,' she snapped icily and I looked up at Tiny as he gave me a puzzled look that said 'are you sure this is your best friend?'

'What did I do, Sierra?' I asked as I pulled my arm from Tiny's grip to I could force Sierra to look at me rather than at the busy road.

'You don't even like them yet you ditched me for them – some friend you are,' Sierra said before shrugging my hands off of her shoulder.

'Hey, I didn't _choose_ to be pulled up on stage; _they_ chose _me_ and thank god they did because I almost got trampled to death by an ogre behind me,' I said; rationalising my actions although I should not of had to.

'Please; as if you didn't want the couple seconds of fame. Don't talk to me in the car ride home,' Sierra whispered as her Mum's silver car finally pulled up and she got into the front seat before slamming the door shut.

'You sure you want to go home with them? I can get you a taxi,' Tiny offered in his deep voice though I only shook my head no.

'You've done enough for me; besides it'll probably only make things worse if you helped me get home,' I said before wrinkling my nose up with a small smile, 'y'know…for a supposedly big, scary security guard, you're not that scary.'

'Only to the people I like,' he said with a deep chuckle before opening the backseat door for me, 'stay safe.'

'Okay…'I said; unsure of what he was implying.

_Sierra may be mad at me but she wouldn't hurt me so what the hell is he talking about?_

I slid into the backseat and buckled my seatbelt as Tiny closed the car door for me; I managed to give him a quick wave before Natalia, Sierra's Mum, sped off down the street.

'I'm very upset with you, Mitchie. First you leave my daughter then you spend your time with a stranger; do you even know that man's name?' Natalia demanded as she flicked her indicator on before turning right.

'Tiny,' I answered shortly; not wanting to argue with her but rather wanting to fall asleep in my bed before we have to move.


	4. Good Life

_**A/N: Yes I know it's been a while and yes I know this may not have been the story you wanted me to update if you read my other stories but this is the one I wanted to update first. I know I've been MIA for quite some time and I swear it won't happen again. I've fixed the parts of my life that needed fixing, at least the one's I could, and I'm back better than ever. I'm going to try and update one of my stories every week. So you won't know which one until you get the little email thing letting you know but it'll be worth it; I promise.**_

_**So on to the story, no? Oh and before you abuse me for no Shane and Mitchie all I gotta say is "patience is a virtue". You will get your Shane and Mitchie and they will make you cry and laugh; maybe even at the same time.**_

_**Enjoy:)  
**_

_**Disclaimer: I have no ownership over Apple and its products, Cornettos or the design of the house that Mitchie's new house is inspired from though if you would like to see it it is **_.com/Mediterranean%

* * *

**"New names and numbers that I don't know**  
** Addressed to places like Abbey Road**  
** Take turns tonight, night turns to whatever we want**  
** We're young enough to say **

**Ohhh this is gotta be a good life"**

**- One Republic**

'You never mentioned how the concert last night went, Mitch,' my Father said two hours into our drive to our new home.

'Uh…it was great thanks – not much to tell really,' I lied easily as I tugged at my seatbelt so I could change my sitting position in the car.

'You're telling me no one through their undies up at the boys or tried to flash them?' Matt said; feigning shock from the back seat.

'Oh shove a sock in your mouth why don't you? You'd do us all a favour,' I snapped from the front and I could only just hear his mumbled retort before music which must have meant he had returned his focus to his Ipod.

'Seriously kid, how'd the concert go?' Dad asked and I gave a deep sigh before leaning my head against the car window. 'That bad, huh?'

'It wasn't _bad_ per se but…complicated. A lot of things went down and I'm not sure where I stand on some things anymore,' I said in hopes of explaining things though I knew in reality I was probably only making my dad more confused.

'Mitchie…I know I'm not your Mum but if you ever need to -'

'What? Gosh no, I didn't mean to imply any of that Dad,' I quickly apologised as I realised what he must pulled from what I had said; 'I would tell you if I could but I can't because I haven't fully grasped the details of last night. Like I said; it's complicated y'know? Not from not having Mum to explain it to but because _I _can't explain it.'

'Oh, alright,' he said whilst letting out a breath of relief, 'well when you do figure it out; feel free to tell me alright?'

'Course Dad,' I said with a smile.

_I mean who else would I have if I didn't tell you?_

'So what's this new house like, Dad?' I asked as he had yet to show Matt or I any pictures as he wanted to "keep it a surprise".

'You're gonna love it, kid. You and Matt at opposite ends of the house, balconies, trees…everything's green…your Mum would've loved it,' Dad said sad smile that broke my heart as it suddenly clicked that although Matt and I had lost our Mum; my Dad had lost his love and best friend.

'If it passes her expectations then I can't wait to see it,' I said whilst placing a comforting hand on his arm, 'maybe we can even plant some of those flowers she likes.'

'The blue ones?'

'Yeah but I'll have to do some googling before hand to find out their actual names because I doubt going into a nursery and asking for the "blue flowers" would get us anywhere,' I teased and Dad gave a hearty chuckle before glancing down at his dashboard.

'We're gonna have to pull over and get some petrol soon,' he said before looking back up at the road; his eyes narrowing slightly before relaxing, 'guess it's a good thing there's one up a head.'

'Yeah; maybe this is a sign that everything from here is going to go brilliantly without any bumps?' I said hopefully as Dad flicked on his indicator to turn off of the road.

'You kids need anything from inside while we're here?' Dad asked as he pulled up beside one of the machines.

'I might go get something to eat,' I said thoughtfully whilst taking my seatbelt off before leaning around my seat and tugging Matt's earphones out of his ears.

'What the hell?' he cursed whilst sending a dirty glare at me as Dad turned off the ignition and got out of the car.

'Dad needs petrol and told us to pick up anything we want because we don't know when the next stop is,' I informed my brother as I picked my black leather handbag up off the floor.

'I don't want anything,' Matt grunted and I rolled my eyes whilst getting out of the car.

'Suit yourself but I'm not letting you eat or drink or read anything of mine if you don't get anything now and regret it later,' I said before closing the car door and making my way over to the shop part of the service station.

'Wait up!' I heard my brother call out from behind me and with a small smile I obediently waited for him to catch up.

'You caved?' I teased as we made our way through the doors though not before I had noticed three large black buses pulling into the area.

'Sif I wouldn't; you know how my stomach works,' he answered with an innocent smile and I was grateful to have the brother I loved so much replace the PMS-sing one; even if it was only for a few minutes.

'That I do brother, that I do,' I laughed whilst bumping shoulders with him to which he responded with by throwing his arm over my shoulders.

'So you buying?' he asked as we came to a stop in front of a row of packaged chips.

'What? Where's your money?'

'In my pocket,' Matt said with a shrug of his shoulders before grabbing a bag of salt and vinegar chips with his free hand.

'Then why am I paying?' I enquired whilst picking up a bag of chicken flavoured chips and plain chips.

'Because I'm older,' he answered simply to which I scoffed.

'By two minutes!' I argued and he once again shrugged his shoulders as he led me over to the refrigerator for drinks.

'Which means you should buy me whatever I want, when I want it,' Matt rationalised before grabbing two bottles of coke and held the fridge door open for me to grab a bottle of lemonade.

'Alright, how about this? I'll pay at this station but you pick up the necessities at the next stop?' I bargained to which he nodded after a few thoughtful seconds.

'Wait – can I still get an ice cream here?'

'You and your damn pit-less stomach,' I complained as we walked over to a separate refrigerator and grabbed out three various kinds of Cornettos.

'Ah…you know you love me.'

'Unfortunately,' I grumbled as we placed all of our items onto the counter and waited for the cashier to bring up how much I owed them.

'Mitch, looks like you'll finally get to marry your Princess,' my brother said randomly as I handed over the required amount of money to the cashier.

'Huh?' I grunted in confusion as I picked up the bag of all our food to find my brother pointing at the three black buses I had seen pull in.

'Your prince,' he said as if it was obvious and I rolled my eyes before pushing him forward with my free hand.

'I somehow doubt a prince would be driving around in a big ole bus; no matter how awesome those buses look,' I commented as we finally left the shop and came to a stop in front of my Dad who had just finished filling our car. 'We got the food,' I called out over my shoulder to him so he would not buy doubles.

'I'm just saying: if ya wanna meet Mr Right you gotta be open to meeting him at odd places,' Matt reasoned and I shook my head in amusement before tripping over my feet at seeing who had just gotten out of the bus, 'watch it sis.'

'Sorry but…is that…no…' I trailed off as I wiped at my eyes with the back of my hand before looking again to see that I was not imagining what I was seeing.

'You mean is that a big fat guy that looks like he could kill ya just by looking at you?' my brother said before cursing out loud as I had whacked him across the head.

'Don't judge based on appearance,' I scolded before shoving the bag of junk food into his hands, 'take this – I gotta go get something from the shops.'

'What the hell?' Matt shouted as I had already run back into the shop.

I quickly grabbed a roll of bandage and a bunch of the most expensive flowers one could buy from a service station and finally a stuffed toy, a yellow bird as a pink panda would be just stupid, and ran to the counter and paid for the items next to my father who was buying even more food.

'I thought I said I had bought food?'

'You can never have enough food – what's all that for?' he asked upon seeing all the items I had just bought.

'Um…I'll explain when I get back into the car but don't drive off straight away alright? I needa go see someone first,' I hurriedly explained before running back out of the shop and over to the first bus; thankful to see the large man still standing there. 'Tiny!'

'Uh…Miss could you please keep your voice down we don't want – Mitchie?' he asked; his voice changing from one of order to kind as a bright smile filled his face.

'Ah-huh,' I said happily, 'didn't think you'd remember my name.'

'Some people are just memorable; you're one of them,' Tiny said which made me blush.

'You sure know how to make a girl feel special, don't cha?'

'So what are you doing here?' he asked once he had settled down from his laughter.

'Making a pit stop before continuing our destination home – what about you?' I asked and mentally laughed at comfortable I had become with this man who I had only met once.

'Shane through another tantrum and we all needed a couple moments to breathe,' Tiny explained as he raised a hand to scratch the back of his neck awkwardly, 'you aren't gonna tell the press about what I just are you?'

'Why would I? You guys did so much for me last night and bad press for Shane is bad press for the band…I'd feel horrible for doing anything like that – wait! That reminds me – here,' I said happily whilst handing over the bag of cheap goodies after making sure to remove the receipt from the bag.

'What's this?' Tiny asked; cautiously peering into the bag which made me giggle.

'It's me saying thank you. I didn't really get much notice of meeting you guys here so I couldn't get anything that's actually worth keeping but there's a new bandage roll in there to replace the one I took as I doubt you'd want it after being used, then there's flowers because my Mamma always said that "where words fail, flowers speak" and finally a stuffed toy. I know the boys probably have heaps of toys and what not but I couldn't very well give you the flowers and the first aid lady the bandage and not give anything to the boys and- oh shit I'm so babbling,' I said as I face-palmed myself in embarrassment.

'The flowers are for me?' Tiny asked in what sounded like awe.

'Well yeah…you did a lot for -' I was cut off as Tiny enveloped me in a big bear hug that almost crushed me.

'Mitchie!' I heard my Dad yell from a short distance away as Tiny finally released me from the hug.

'What was that for?' I asked with a small smile as I pushed my fringe off of my face.

'After all the years I've worked with my boys; you're the first person to give _me_ something and not want anything in return,' he explained with eyes that were covered with a sheet of unshed tears.

'Oh…well you're welcome? But it's not like you didn't deserve them.'

'Mitchie; c'mon!'

'Well thank you, Mitchie.'

'Mitch, would you move your ass already?' Matt shouted which brought me back to reality.

'Anytime, Tiny,' I said with a small wave before running back to the car.

'Mitchie, who the hell was that and why was he hugging you? Do I need to call the police?' my dad questioned the moment I had shut the car door behind me.

'That was Tiny; he's probably one of the nicest people I've ever met in my life,' I explained briefly with a shrug of my shoulders as Dad pulled out of the gas station; my father continuing his interrogation over who Tiny was.

'Oh my freaking God!' I said quietly as we finally pulled up to the start of a driveway in front of black wrought iron gates.

'You're shitting us aren't you, Dad?' Matt said in disbelief as Dad pulled out a separate set of keys from the console before throwing them over his shoulder to Matt.

'Try them if you don't believe me.'

'Fucking hell,' Matt muttered as the gates slowly rolled open after he had pressed a button.

'Matthew, language,' Dad scolded him as he drove forward and parked in front of the house, 'don't close the gate either; the movers were only a couple cars behind us before.'

'Dad…this can't be our house,' I said as I slowly got out of the car and looked up at the large house in front of me, 'I've lived in Army houses my whole life and this ain't one of them.'

'Alright so I've got something to tell you guys,' Dad said as Matt joined us in front of the house.

'Okay…go,' I said uncertainly and Matt nodded in agreement as Dad took a deep breath.

'This is actually your Mother's house – no wait till I finish then you can interrupt,' he said quickly after seeing me open my mouth to ask a question, 'you see your Mother and I had this plan to build a house from scratch, the way _we_ want it and that's what we did. Up until the day she died, your Mum and me worked on this house and I would travel down here as often as I could without you two asking any questions. This house is what your Mum wanted and I know she's not here right now…but I thought you two might think of this as her living through this house…but with the looks you're both giving me maybe this wasn't the best idea…'

'Dad…' I breathed as tears rolled down my face as Matt and I both pulled him into a big hug knowing that he was hurting just as much, if not more than, us.

'You sure we can pay for this?' Matt asked and I laughed at the fact that he had to be the one to turn serious.

'We saved up a long time for this house, from the day we married actually, and with the reading of your Grandma's will we had plenty of money left to work on this house,' Dad said; referring to the passing of our Mum's mother who had left her only daughter all of her money.

'So…this is real? This is our house?' I asked; still doubting that all this was actually happening to us.

'Go in and have a look around; I let your Mum handle the colours and garden but the actual design itself is mine,' he explained whilst gesturing at the house.

Whilst Dad and Matt went inside to explore the inside of the house, I remained outside and looked at the beautifulness of our new home. The size of the house was more similar to a mansion rather than an everyday house with Mediterranean detailing and colours. I slowly walked around the house and gazed upwards at the balconies that extended from some of the rooms of the second story and almost cried upon seeing the back yard. Dad was right in saying how green it was and in the back right corner was a large oak tree. Positioned in the middle of the yard with a stone pathway leading up and around it was a pool with a diving board, ladder and slide.

_Oh my freaking God! I have a freaking slide in my backyard!_

I was about to continue my adventures around our new yard when loud commotion from down the street caught my attention. I jogged to the front yard and down the driveway as the trucks that held all our boxes of belongings began to pull up into our driveway but that was not the source of all the screaming and crying. All that noise was coming from a group of about twenty girls were crowding the pathway as three large black buses drove up the driveway of the house next door to us.

_No…it can't be. I mean it can't be them as they live…in…Wyckoff…like me. And…no…no. No! _

I pushed my way through the crowd of girls much to their annoyance and to my horror I saw Connect 3 along with their band mates and family exiting their tour buses and entering what must be their house. Connect 3 were about to enter their house when suddenly Jason turned around and began making his way down the driveway to me though I knew in reality he was coming to greet his fans. The next thing I knew Nate and Shane had decided to do the same thing and I swear it only took me to blink my eyes and re-focus them before all three boys were standing in front of me; all sharing a confused look with each other over the brown-haired girl standing in front of them that they had only met last night; aka _me_.

_Holy flying pigs! As if God hates me enough to put me next door to the boy I humiliated on stage._

'Uh…um...uh…' I stuttered as Jason finally smiled upon realising who I was.

'Mitchie!' he exclaimed whilst flinging his arms out; obviously anticipating a hug from me.

'I gotta go,' I blurted out before sprinting my way back to the safety of my house; running inside then up the spiral staircase before realising I had no idea where my room was.

_Great, just great. The one time I need to scream into a pillow or belt out my frustrations on my keyboard all my things are packed away and in an unknown room in a freaking mansion. _


End file.
